A takedown two-piece hingedly connected archery bow

ABSTRACT

A takedown archery bow having a two-piece handle portion foldable about a hinge with their outer extremities integrally connected to a pair of bow ends. The hinge is operable to provide a rigid and quiet operation while the handle portion is secured in the operable position by a locking assembly that at all times is integral with the bow structure. In the operable position, the bow handles are further characterized in that they are offset transversely from the common plane to provide an unobstructed view of the target area.

United States Patent Richard S. Karbo Whittier, Calif.

Mar. 1 l, 1970 Oct. 12, 1971 The Leisure Group, Inc. Los Angeles, Calif.

lnventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee A TAKEDOWN TWO-PIECE HINGEDLY CONNECTED ARCHERY BOW 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 124/24, 124/30 R Int. Cl F4lb 5/00 Field of Search 124/23, 24, 22, 21,41, 30R

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,426,283 7/1947 Pearson 124/23 2,457,793 12/1948 Bear 124/23 2,514,638 7/l950 Grenier. 124/23 3,527,196 9/1970 Karbo 124/24 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne Attorney-Jackson & Jones ABSTRACT: A takedown archery bow having a two-picce handle portion foldable about a hinge with their outer extremities integrally connected to a pair of bow ends. The hinge is operable to provide a rigid and quiet operation while the handle portion is secured in the operable position by a locking assembly that at all times is integral with the bow structure. In the operable position, the bow handles are further characterized in that they are offset transversely from the common plane to provide an unobstructed view of the target area.

A TAKEDOWN TWO-PIECE HINGEDLY CONNECTED ARCHERY BOW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to archery bows and more particularly to demountable or, as they are more commonly known, takedown" archery bows.

2. Description of the Prior Art Archery bows, particularly thoseused for hunting game, have lengths which frequently equal the height of the archer. They are therefore relatively awkward and cumbersome to carry and transport. To facilitate their handling, archery bows have in the past been built in two or more pieces which could be assembled and disassembled. While' disassembled, the pieces are relatively short and easy to transport. At the location of their intended use they are reassembled to provide'a full-length archery bow.

Bows of this size, ranging in length up to 5 or 6 feet or more, must be strongly built since they require a drawing force of up to about 50 or 60 pounds. Moreover, since the center section of the bow experiences the maximum bending moments it must therefore be the strongest part 'of the bow. As a result, although the parting line would be most ideally placed at the center section of the bow to enable the bow to be taken down into pieces of equal length, for strength and safety reasons, the parting line is usually located elsewhere. Failure to make the bow sufficiently strong may cause its breakage and additionally injure the archer.

As a consequence, most prior art takedown bows provide a centrally located and separate handle portionwhich is joined to two limb members. In many of such bows the middle handle portion operates as a sleeve joint and receives each of the limb members in a telescopic fashion. The central handle portions may be constructed of metal or similar high-strength material to withstand the relatively large bending moments.

Although three-piece bows have been used extensively, they have not been fully satisfactory. One serious shortcoming is that during transportation, the archer must carry three separate pieces, ordinarily of different lengths. This makes the handling quite cumbersome. Another serious limitation is that the bows are expensive to manufacture since the required two joints must be accurately machined to insure satisfactory service. Moreover,the bow limbs tend to creak during use. Such creaking is distracting to the archer and may affect the accuracy of his shot.

Another serious shortcoming with prior demountable bows is that the smaller parts used in assembling the bows, such'as bolts, screws, etc. are easy to misplace, which of course, is undesirable since it prevents proper utilization of the bow.

Moreover, as is common with many conventional bows, the handle portion of the bow lies generally in a common plane with the string and the arrow. As a result, a sirbsta'ntialportion of the target area is obscured by the handle when using such a bow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention obviates the above-mentioned shortcomings by providing a demountable bow that operates quietly and efficiently in its operable position, and is foldable at its midpoint with the entire bow structure remaining integral in its stowed position. The demountable bow includes a two-piece handle portion foldable about a hinge with their outer extremities integrally connected to a pair of bow limbs. The hinge includes a tapered hole and pin arrangement to provide rigidity and quiet operation, while the handle portion is secured in the operable position by a combination pistol grip locking assembly.

The bow handles are further characterized when in the operable position in that they are ofiset transversely from the common plane to provide an unobstructed view of the target area.

snug fit therebetween. Such a snug arrangement also eliminates distracting creaking sounds emitted by prior art multipiece bows. 1 l0 Still another advantage is that the offset handle portion with the remote pistolgrip type handle enables the archer to have an unobstructed view of the target area.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGJI is an elevational view of the demountable bow of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the bow handle taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the bow handle taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a demountable bow, generally indicated by arrow 10, having a two-piece handle portion 11 hinged at its midpoint 13. The outer extremities 15 of the handle portion 11 are integrally connected to a pair of how limbs 17. A bowstring l9 interconnects the limbs outer extremities in the conventional manner.

The bow 10 is shown in its operable position with the bow limbs 17 and'the bow string 19 forming a common plane along which the limbs 17 are flexed and the string 19 is pulledlln the operable position the handle portion 11' is transversely offset from the common plane to provide the archer with an unobstructed view of the target area.

Each of the hinged portions of the two-piece handle 11 includes a laterally extending flange 21 formed perpendicular to the common plane with the bottom flange supporting a pistol grip 23. The pistol grip 23 is also positioned on the common plane in order not to create any undesirable bending moments in the bow 10 while shooting. The handle portion 11 also includes an arrow support 25 integrally formed thereon.

Referring to FIG. 2, the hinged portion of the handle 11 is formed by a plurality of interlocking ribs 27 formed on the inner extremity'of each of the handle pieces. The plurality of ribs form coaxial apertures 29 *which are tapered to define, when the ribs 27 are interlocked, a smooth, tapered hole into which a tapered pin 31 can be inserted.

Eachend of the aperture is closed by means of a cap 33 threadedly connected to a threaded stud portion 35 formed at the outer ends thereof. A spring 37 is mounted within the aperture at the large end of the pin 31 to bias the pin 31 against the tapered hole in a wedged manner.

The hinge is characterized in that the interlocking ribs 27 are in a snug engagement and the spring biased pin 31 enables the two pieces of the handle 11 to substantially rigidly secured to each other when in the locked position. Such rigidity ensures a quiet and safe operation.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the locking means, generally indicated by arrow 40, utilized to secure the flanges 21 together. The locking means 40 includes knob 41 having a body portion 43 extending downwardly through an aperture 45 formed in the top flange 21. The knob 41 is rotatably mounted on the flange 21. A split ring 47 is mounted within a groove 49 formed within the body portion 43 and is adapted to engage a shoulder 51 formed in the aperture 45 to keep the body portion 43 from falling out of the aperture 45. A Teflon washer is mounted beneath the knob 41 to provide a bearing surface against the flange 21.

The body portion 43 is counterbored at its lower extremity 53 and is adapted to receive a threaded stud 55 extending through an aperture 57 formed in the lower flange 21. The stud 55 is fonned on a bar 57 which is connected to the lower flange 21 by bolt means (not shown). The bar 57 also is integrally connected to the pistol grip 23.

The aperture 45 is designed to be oversized to enable the body portion 43 to loosely fit therein. This enables the knob 41 and the body portion 43 to pivot slightly with respect to the axis of the aperture 45. The stud 55 is also slightly undersized with respect to the counterbore 53. Since the body portion 43 initially engages the stud 55 at an angle the above-mentioned structural limitations are necessary to prevent the threaded members from binding. After initial engagement, the two assemblies are drawn together upon rotation of the knob 41 until secured (as shown in solid lines in FIG. 3).

As can be seen, an important advantage of the present invention is that the bow can be conveniently taken down by simply rotating the knob 41 with the added advantage that the entire structure, including the locking assembly, remains integral.

It should be noted that various modifications can be made to the apparatus while still remaining within the purview of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A demountable archery bow comprising:

a pair of how members having hinge means for interconnecting said members about a pivot point to enable said bow members to be folded in half for storage, said members further having locking means integrally connected there between for securing said members in an aligned operable position, and said locking means being substantially removed from the hinge means and positioned substantially on the longitudinal axis of the bow.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said hinge means includes:

interlocking ribs formed on the inner extremities of said members, said ribs matingly engaging each other;

a plurality of coaxially aligned tapered apertures formed within said ribs to form a smooth tapered hole;

a tapered pin positioned within said hole; and

spring bias means for maintaining said pin within said hole in a wedged manner.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said pair of bow members includes:

a handle comprising two sections interconnected by said hinge means, and a bow limb interconnected to each of the hinged sections.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said handle portion is curved to be transversely offset from the longitudinal axis of the bow to provide an unobstructed view of the target area.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking means includes:

a pair of flanges integrally formed at the connected ends of the bow members having interengaging surfaces therebetween; and

securing means for maintaining said flanges together, said securing means being integral with one of said flanges upon disengagement.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said securing means includes interengaging thread means mounted on said flanges.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said interengaging thread means are flexibly supported in said flanges to permit proper interengagement therebetween upon pivoting of said bow members. 

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said hinge means includes: interlocking ribs formed on the inner extremities of said members, said ribs matingly engaging each other; a plurality of coaxially aligned tapered apertures formed within said ribs to form a smooth tapered hole; a tapered pin positioned within said hole; and spring bias means for maintaining said pin within said hole in a wedged manner.
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said pair of bow members includes: a handle comprising two sections interconnected by said hinge means, and a bow limb interconnected to each of the hinged sections.
 4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said handle portion is curved to be transversely offset from the longitudinal axis of the bow to provide an unobstructed view of the target area.
 5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking means includes: a pair of flanges integrally formed at the connected ends of the bow members having interengaging surfaces therebetween; and securing means for maintaining said flanges together, said securing means being integral with one of said flanges upon disengagement.
 6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said securing means includes interengaging thread means mounted on said flanges.
 7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said interengaging thread Means are flexibly supported in said flanges to permit proper interengagement therebetween upon pivoting of said bow members. 